It can be tricky to think up ideas for corporate events that will be memorable in all of the right ways, while genuinely furthering your organisation’s broader objectives.

Here at Château Bouffémont – an enchanting private venue for such events on the outskirts of Paris – we, therefore, thought we would make some suggestions that can be organised in a wide range of settings, but which are especially suitable when you select us for your next corporate event.

A gourmet activity

We’re sure there are a few members of your team who have always fancied themselves as a potential Bake Off champion, so why not put their culinary credentials – and that of your other workers – to the test?

With the broad assortment of gourmet activities that we are able to host in the extraordinary grounds of Château Bouffémont ranging from cooking classes to chocolate workshops, we’re sure there will be an event that you could hold to bring out your employees’ gastronomic skills.

Something artistic

As creative as both brilliant and abysmal cooking can be, it may be that you also have a few adept artists, photographers, singers, floral designers or even perfumers on your team.

Events such as the singing lessons, floral design and photography classes that we are pleased to be able to host at our spectacular stone-built residence could be ideal for drawing those abilities out, while also enabling everyone to bond in an atmosphere of fun.

As your staff can soon find out, horse riding isn’t something that only the most discerning enthusiasts of all things equestrian are able to do.

Our own horse riding classes are made possible not only by the instructors that we can provide to guide your staff through the basics, but also the expansive countryside that is open for exploration, by virtue of our advantageous location in the heart of the Montmorency Forest.

More intense sporting activity

While endurance event series such as Tough Mudder have gained considerable popularity in recent years among those seeking a more intense kind of team-building event, there are many different sports that your staff could pursue as part of a suitably tailored group activity.

That is no less the case when you choose Château Bouffémont for corporate venue hire in France. You may not have known, for instance, of the priority access that we can provide for your workers to the highly exclusive Paris International Golf Club, where such activities as tennis and golf can be experienced with the benefit of excellent facilities.

Exploring the cultural riches of Paris

Given that Château Bouffémont is, after all, situated a mere 30 kilometres (18.5 miles) from the City of Lights itself, it would be practically churlish not to organise a corporate event that embraces Paris’s broader cultural treasures in some manner.

Indeed, you may wish to ask our team about the discovery tour that we can provide of the French capital’s most resplendent theatres, museums and other landmarks.

The wedding planner that you pick will have the immense responsibility of ensuring that every aspect of the organisation of your big day goes smoothly. You should, therefore, expect to ask a lot of questions to each person you are considering for this all-important job.

Here are just some of the questions to ask that will help you to narrow down the candidates.

Will you be available on my wedding day?

This may appear to be an obvious question, but you would be surprised to hear of how often it isn’t asked until the couple realise the true situation all too late. In fact, you should be asking this question before any other, to ensure you do not waste any time considering someone who isn’t free.

If you are strongly interested in working with a particular wedding planner and can be flexible with your dates, you could ask them to give several dates when they will be free within your desired range, so that you can determine when both they and your preferred venue will be available.

Have you organised weddings at this venue before?

Your chosen wedding planner having overseen nuptials at the specific venue you have in mind is a big plus, as they will therefore probably know the venue staff, layout and logistics. This, in turn, should help to make the planning process that bit smoother.

Alternatively, it may be that the person in question has planned weddings at similar venues, which can be a great advantage, too. It could enable you to ask them a little more about their approach to organising weddings in such settings.

This way, if you have an unspeakably romantic French chateau wedding at such a fairytale venue as Château Bouffémontin mind, you can be sure of the planner achieving a ‘vibe’ that you will love.

How do you deal with difficult family members?

There are various ways in which you could phrase a question like this. The key is to uncover evidence of how the wedding planner customarily responds to those unexpected disaster situations that could put them under a lot of pressure. You won’t want to discover that your chosen wedding planner becomes easily flustered or angry in such a situation on your big day itself!

However, you should also gain a sense from this person that they have a foolproof backup plan in mind for such difficult situations and will be organised enough to hopefully ward off any catastrophes from occurring in the first place.

How do you prefer to communicate?

Different wedding planners often have very different methods of operating, and you will want to be sure that your chosen wedding planner’s process works well for you.

The wedding planner that you have in mind may be based largely in Paris, for instance, which may seem ideal if you are getting married somewhere like the refined stone-built Château Bouffémont, situated a mere 30 kilometres away.

However, you may be a resident of the UK who will not be visiting France until the wedding, which will not be helpful if your Paris-based wedding planner is never in Britain and prefers to discuss their ideas with you face-to-face, rather than via email or over the phone.

For how long have you been a wedding planner?

We’re not attempting to suggest here that an experienced wedding planner is automatically preferable to an inexperienced one.

However, if the person you choose has spent several decades in the industry rather than just a few years, they will have had greater opportunity to develop connections with vendors that could translate into a better wedding for you.

Organising corporate retreats can be invaluable for enabling your employees to bond in a face-to-face setting. The benefits can be especially strong if these employees usually work in segmented teams based in disparate locations. However, the venue that you choose can prove crucial to your retreat’s success.

It is imperative that the venue you select ticks an array of particular boxes – and an unorthodox choice of venue can do so especially well. Here are several reasons why our own chateau has strong merit.

Your workers can relieve stress resulting from day-to-day tasks

Sometimes, employees can become so preoccupied with their daily routines that they don’t give themselves sufficient time to step back and take in the bigger picture of their firm’s future.

However, allowing your workers to retreat to our chateau can afford them the time to do exactly this. With our building set amid Montmorency Forest and spectacular manicured gardens, the members of your team can be spared irritating distractions while they put together their new game plan.

There’s the opportunity to explore somewhere new

Often, we travel for leisure purposes because it lets us explore exciting new places. A corporate retreat at a significant distance from a familiar setting can also psychologically benefit your workers, as Inc. reveals – but where can you find interesting but unchartered territory?

The answer: right here at Château Bouffémont. Your staff can spend time admiring the refined decor and beautiful fabrics of our stone-built residence, which includes five grand reception halls and nine suites.

Our chateau is easy to reach

Despite what we have urged about choosing a venue that will enable a fresh and unexpected experience, settling for a venue in an overly obscure location can prove counterproductive. You have to consider, for example, how easily your employees will be able to make the journey.

Fortunately, you can enjoy the best of both worlds at our chateau – as, despite its secluded setting, it remains just 30 kilometres from central Paris and 20 minutes from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

You wouldn’t reap maximum returns from a retreat if you took your workers away from an office, to merely somewhere else that feels like an office. Fortunately, our chateau, with its aristocratic charm and magnificent heritage features, can spare you a ‘work from work’ feeling.

There’s a pleasing scope for spontaneity

In a Fox News article, Janet Fallon of the Washington, D.C.-based public relations company PR Options advises that those organising a corporate retreat forgo a bland space in favour of a “visually busier, interesting space to get the creative juices flowing”. Your staff could be easily kept busy themselves at our chateau.

Opportunities here for playing golf and tennis and trying dancing or cooking help to explain why a chateau is perfect for a corporate retreat – and our own chateau, especially so.

It is unsurprising that so many couples wish to tie the knot in France, which is, after all, perhaps the country on earth to be most indelibly associated with romance. However, whatever your own preferences or plans for your special day may be, it is vital to be well-informed with regard to the legalities and other practical aspects of formalising your union overseas.

What kind of venue do you desire for your big day?

France is such a frequently dreamed-of wedding destination in part due to its abundance of highly distinguished and enchanting venues.

A French chateau wedding is surely the archetypal romantic occasion, as we have good reason to appreciate here at Château Bouffémont, on account of the many enquiries we receive in relation to hiring our magnificent heritage property for ceremonies and receptions.

While France is blessed with a variety of wedding venues to cater to different aesthetic tastes, it is also crucial to consider the logistics of your special day, including travel connections and the ease, or otherwise, with which your intended guests will be able to reach your chosen venue.

This is another factor that often heightens the appeal of such a well-situated venue as Château Bouffémont, which can be found in the heart of Montmorency Forest, a mere 40-minute journey from central Paris, and 20 minutes from Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Le Bourget airports.

Some of the legal requirements for a wedding in France – such as for both parties to consent and be at least 18 years of age – may seem easy enough to meet. However, one frequent barrier to those wishing to officially marry in the country is the need to provide proof of residency in France for a minimum of 30 days prior to the application being made, for at least one of the parties.

It is for this reason that many couples ultimately elect to have a legal wedding in their home country, followed by a religious or symbolic ceremony at a French venue of their choice.

This was the approach taken by Natalie of the Weddings Abroad Guide website, who explained: “My husband and I ‘secretly’ got married in the United Kingdom prior to our wedding in France and had a Humanist wedding ceremony on our wedding day in France.

“Our civil ceremony in the United Kingdom was purely to take care of the legalities and our wedding day in France is when we considered ourselves married.”

All of the intricate touches required for a very special wedding

When you are interested in holding a destination wedding that will warm the hearts of everyone present and leave positive memories to last a lifetime, you can scarcely hope to select a more suitable venue than Château Bouffémont.

Our noble stone-built property offers an extraordinary setting of manicured French gardens that lends itself beautifully to the most endearing photography. On the inside, meanwhile, you will find the opulent furnishings and crystal chandeliers that practically define the most intimate and charming of wedding venues.

Combine these elements with our exacting service characterised by the highest level of attention to detail, and you may have the ideal venue for your own intimate French chateau wedding.

Getting married in France is a dream that many couples have. This is in large part due to the many
fascinating wedding traditions that have contributed to the country’s sustained reputation as the
epicentre of global romance.

If, however, you are interested in not only tying the knot in France but also embracing the finest
French traditions for this most special day, here are some ideas that you may like to incorporate into
your own ceremony.

1. A non-bride-centric approach

To those familiar with the phenomenon of the ‘bridezilla’ – a term used in reference to brides
perceived to be self-centered and unreasonable – the comparatively little focus placed on the bride in
traditional French weddings may be surprising at first. French marriages tend to emphasise, instead,
the two families that are brought together by the union.

2. The wedding procession

One custom on a French wedding day is for the groom to approach his bride-to-be at her home to
‘collect’ her prior to the ceremony. As the bride, her father and musicians lead the procession,
children stretch white ribbons across the road to block their path. The bride cuts the ribbons to
allow her passage, thereby also symbolising her ability to overcome the obstacles of married life.

3. La mairie

This is a legal requirement that has effectively taken the form of a French marriage tradition. Those
wishing to legally marry in the country must be married by the mayor at a town hall, with the doors
remaining open to reflect the ‘public’ nature of the event and – traditionally – provide potential
objectors to the marriage with the opportunity to do so. The SmartExpat website provides more
details on the legal process of tying the knot in France.

4. The wedding armoire

A traditional French bride’s ‘wedding armoire’ is her cupboard or chest, which is to be filled with
linen or clothing – or to use the native term, ‘trousse’. Such items are often hand chosen and
embroidered by the bride and her mother with her married initials, and are meant to serve the
bride’s needs during her married life.

5. The grand entrance

It is the groom and his mother who typically walk down the aisle first to mark the big entrance after
all of the guests are seated. It is only after this that the bridal party arrives, including flower girls
scattering petals, boys carrying the ring and finally, the bride and her father. The couple then sit on
red velvet chairs for the exchange of vows.

6. La noce

This is a term covering all of the wedding-related festivities involving the wedding party and guests.
One tradition formerly involved the guests – or ‘noce’ – following the newlyweds to the various sites
visited on the day, such as the church, drink reception or dinner location, while making the
maximum possible amount of noise. Today, a car procession following the bridal vehicle – with the
horns blaring en route – is more typical.

7. La voiture balai

What can be directly translated in name as the ‘broom car’ serves the purpose of following the
bridal and guests’ cars between locations, to ensure everyone reaches the party safely. A quirkily
and unmistakably French vehicle – such as the Citroen 2CV – is often chosen for this role, and may
be heavily decorated with pans or tins that trail behind it during the journey.

8. The cake

Traditional French weddings do not have a wedding cake as such, but instead what is known as a
croquembouche, which essentially takes the form of a pyramid of balls or choux buns filled with
vanilla cream or custard, and held together with toffee. Alternative offerings may be chosen, such as
conical creations consisting of macrons or other French pastries. Paris-based wedding planner
Kimberley Petyt has provided further information on what you need to know for your own French
wedding croquembouche on The Good Life France website.

9. The champagne tower

Few French wedding traditions are more enthusiastically embraced by those from overseas than la
fontaine à Champagne! This extravagant sight takes the form of a pyramid of flutes or coupes, with
the Champagne being poured into the top glass and subsequently filling all of the glasses below. As
you might imagine, it is best advised to entrust the construction of such a tower to capable and
experienced professionals.

10. The fairytale chateau venue

There can surely be no finer French wedding tradition than the backdrop on which one ties the knot,
not least because this is so often a resplendent historic chateau, such as the extraordinary Château
Bouffémont in its enchanting setting of manicured French gardens.

When you seek the most unspeakably romantic chateau to rent in France for your special day, you
could scarcely hope to make a more tasteful choice than our own aristocratic property – not least
because we are also in such close proximity to Paris, the City of Lights itself.

A corporate event such as a product launch or fashion show affords your brand many opportunities
to showcase its relevance to the market and highlight how engaged it is with its audience.

However, it is the way your event is photographed that will largely dictate its success, which is why
you mustn’t ever be complacent about the standard of your organisation’s corporate photography.
Here are some tips for ensuring the best results.

Consider how the images will be used

It is very easy, in your first discussions with a prospective event photographer, to suggest to them
that you will use the images ‘everywhere’. But it is also true that knowledge of the exact context in
which your images will be used may greatly influence your photographer’s choices.
Instagram images, for example, are often square so a photographer who knows you will be using
the photos here – rather than on Facebook or physical posters – may shoot in a way that allows the
images to be cropped without being ruined.

Select an intriguing and varied venue

There are, of course, many factors that will dictate the venue that you choose for your next
corporate event, such as its proximity to important transport connections and the price of the rental.
However, another aspect that must be considered is how the given venue will work from an event
photography perspective. Does the site that you are contemplating give your photographer a variety
of interesting backdrops and angles to work with?

The sheer variety and resplendence of our own prestigious stone-built property – Château
Bouffémont – is a firm reason why we are such a popular choice for corporate venue hire in France.
Whether you are seeking a refined interior with crystal chandeliers, or large grounds of spectacular
manicured French gardens, we can give you all of the advantages of such striking settings.

Brief your photographer on who will be attending

If you are engaging a professional to take your event photography rather than attempting to do so
yourself, it is easy to forget that they won’t know all of your attendees. They could, therefore, miss
out on taking a good image of someone who you wish to be photographed.

This is why it makes sense to provide your photographer with information about your event guests
in advance, complete with headshots, so that they can recognise those people on the day and be
sure to take some really interesting images.

Remember that you will want to make anyone viewing your event photos to be able to easily
imagine themselves there, and artificial lighting can be rather detrimental to this aim.

Don’t take photos of people eating

One only needs to think back to some of the famous cringe-worthy examples of politicians being
photographed in awkward poses while eating – as documented in this article by The Culture Trip – to
be convinced of the wisdom of taking a break from photography once guests start dining.
The fact of the matter is that you are unlikely to produce many – if any – usable shots of people
while eating, and many of your attendees will probably be uncomfortable with you attempting this.
Contact the Château Bouffémont team today to request our corporate brochure and find out more
about why our private venue provides such a suitable and memorable setting for all manner of
events – potentially including yours.

If you have often seen friends and relatives enjoying chateau weddings, you could be understandably attracted to the idea of having a similar ceremony for your own big day. We would be happy to allow you to rent our heritage venue, Château Bouffémont, for your nuptials.

However, if you intend your wedding to happen during the summer, you might wonder how you could make it stand out from such weddings your guests have previously attended. Here are some ideas…

Keep the engagement period short

One way of leaving a positive lasting impression on your guests is making the wedding a surprise. You could do this by renting our French chateau for your intended wedding day and then sending out the invites – except omitting the detail that the event will be a wedding.

Give your guests good reasons to travel

This can be imperative if you are seeking to keep the wedding under wraps for now, as even well-meaning friends and relatives could be reluctant to make long journeys for anything other than significant milestones. Therefore, you should try strongly incentivising them to travel.

If you book our venue, you could draw attention to its proximity to Paris. Our stunning refined building is just 30 kilometres from the centre of the French capital and its many attractions.

Offer drinks with a difference

At a summer wedding, it can be standard practice to hand glasses of champagne to guests as they arrive. However, as recommended in another Vogue piece, you could instead place decorative pitchers of fruit-infused ice water at the entrance to the venue.

This can have the dual benefit of not only giving your guests another unique little detail to fondly remember but also helping to keep them cool – a purpose that some fruits are especially effective at serving.

Put together an inventive game plan

When you rent Château Bouffémont for use on your wedding day, you can tailor the on-site services that we provide to prevent boredom setting in among your guests.

For example, you could ask our fully dedicated staff to make refined cuisine that meets various guests’ specific culinary preferences. You could even book private fitness and dance classes or let guests try cookery or taste-test wine. It’s all possible at our chateau.

Encourage a quirky-but-practical dress code

If you have attended many weddings in the past, you might have understandably felt anguish about how you should dress for these occasions. After all, discerning how to dress in a way that makes you stand out but not show up the bride can seem like a delicate art.

To prevent your guests struggling to strike the right balance, you could show them these tips from Harper’s Bazaar. You can then start preparing for other aspects of the wedding; here at Château Bouffémont, we warmly welcome reservations for chateau weddings for dates during the summer.

If you are seeking the ideal setting for a luxurious getaway, France can be an obvious draw. The Gallic country is resplendent in breathtaking historical attractions, beautiful rural scenery and opportunities for succulent wining and dining.

Furthermore, you can enjoy it all the more when you choose a chateau as your base. Here are several good reasons to consider a chateau rental in France.

Paris and its cosmopolitan attractions can be within easy reach

It can often seem impossible to overestimate the breadth of attractions in Paris. The French capital can easily satisfy, whether it is cuisine, history or culture of which you are eager to sample the best.

The city’s ready accessibility also counts in its favour. Paris is served by Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is itself just a 20-minute trip away from our luxury venue, Château Bouffémont. You would have exclusive access to our heritage building for as long as you rent it.

Our chateau can satisfy your architectural tastes

If you have a keen interest in history, you could find yourself in your element here at Château Bouffémont, which was built in the 19th century.

The building exhibits refined interior decor; you could be especially enchanted by such elegant touches as our crystal chandeliers. However, don’t forget to also spend sufficient time outside the building to let yourself see the stone-built residence’s exterior in all of its magnificence.

You can accommodate peaceful moments for your getaway

There’s a good reason why your trip is called a “getaway” – after all, it entails literally getting away from the hustle and bustle of your usual day-to-day life. You could, therefore, delight in the opportunities to unwind in the quiet of our chateau’s wonderfully manicured French gardens.

With our building situated in a secluded spot in Montmorency Forest, you would have no shortage of private settings from which to choose during your soothing stay in France.

You would have valuable opportunities to try new things

Even without leaving Château Bouffémont, you would be able to sample horse riding and such relaxing sports as tennis and golf. We can even give you access to fitness and dance lessons, allowing you to benefit from one-on-one intuition.

The experience can be tailored to your personal preferences

Key to the beauty of staying here at Château Bouffémont is that it does not offer a single, standardised experience for everyone. Instead, you can carefully tailor the offerings. For example, on-site, we have dedicated staff who can make refined cuisine to your specific liking.

We invite you to choose us for your chateau rental in France, which offers further possibilities for a personalised getaway. Architectural Digest highlights how different Parisian neighbourhoods can cater to particular personalities – and the city can soon be near if you make a reservation with us.

As a magnificent venue of rich heritage, Château Bouffémont continues to attract the interest of families around the world interested in organising a reunion or other family event in a friendly, intimate location.

But if you are considering organising your own family reunion – whether with the aim of reuniting half a dozen of your closest relatives or a great number more of your brood – there are many details to which you will need to pay particular attention.

Here are just some of them.

Who are you planning to invite?

The matter of who you would like to attend the family reunion will naturally greatly influence other elements of your planning, such as the date and location.

The basic parameters of the invite list – such as whether you only intend to invite immediate brothers, sisters and cousins, or instead more distant members of the family who you may not have been in contact with for many years – will need to be decided first.

This is the very least you will need to know before you start to send out invitations for your family reunion – which, as the Gathered Again website explains, is an aspect of your event that deserves plenty of thought in its own right.

Determine a date and location

Once you are sure of which family members are both likely and willing to attend, you will be able to survey them on the location, venue and date that they would prefer for the reunion. On establishing a decent idea of the wishes of your would-be guests, you could then forward each of them three nominated venues to rank in order of preference.

It is a good idea to plan such an ambitious event as a family reunion at least 12 months in advance, not least because you may need to allow such an amount of time to ensure the desired venue is available.

Whether you are interested in a venue in France, the UK, the United States or anywhere else in the world, you will naturally wish to ensure that every member of your intended party can reach it easily and will be appreciative of the surroundings you ultimately choose.

What makes our own venue an excellent choice?

Various factors are likely to guide your prospective attendees’ preferences in relation to the venue itself. Given the disparate nature of the wishes expressed within families for such an event, it is no surprise that Château Bouffémont is such a sought-after family reunion venue.

After all, we offer it offers the finest of all obvious worlds – a tranquil location in Montmorency Forest, but also with the big-city stimulations of Paris and the international connections provided by Charles de Gaulle Airport within easy reach.

All the while, hiring Château Bouffémont for your family reunion also means all of the benefits inherent in an exquisite and luxurious stone-built residence with large, sprawling grounds. Both indoor and outdoor activities can be arranged for your reunion event, bearing in mind what may be the widely varying ages of your family members.

Consider appointing people to organise your reunion

It may, therefore, make sense to appoint members of your family to positions related to various aspects of the event, encompassing such responsibilities as keeping an eye on finances and booking accommodation, right through to sending out invitations and organising activities and excursions.

France has long provided the perfect stage for the quintessential romantic break. But when you are planning such a holiday with your beloved, whether the two of you have been an item for several weeks or several decades, what are the elements that will help to make your trip especially memorable?

It’s all about the perfect venue

When you make the best choice of venue for your long weekend away in France, so much else will naturally fall into place. After all, one cannot help but get a little loved up in such extraordinary surroundings as those presented by the Domaine du Château Bouffémont.

This fairytale venue ticks so many of the obvious boxes for a magical romantic break, and many others less obvious.

The Château Bouffémont is situated in the heart of the Montmorency Forest, for instance, which may mean much time during your break is whiled away walking hand-in-hand with your sweetheart, admiring the chestnut, beech and oak trees that grace these 2,200 hectares of hilly forest.

Plenty more delights lie in wait within

While the rural location certainly lends itself to an outdoorsy romantic break, the aristocratic charm and modern comforts of the Château itself also demand appreciation.

This is the ultimate enchanting setting for a long weekend in France, whether you wish to enjoy an in-suite breakfast, tuck into a candlelit dinner, relax with a massage for two or gaze at the captivating sunset view from the terrace.

Château Bouffémont was, after all, built in the 19th century for such demanding residents as the Marquise of Preignes and Baron Empain. With its five grand reception halls, nine delectable suites and sumptuously manicured French gardens, it is a noble residence that was conceived from the ground up to exude romance.

Don’t forget, too, the separate additional guest kitchen that we provide for your use on a 24-hours-a-day basis and the dedicated full-service team – including a private butler and housekeepers – that will help to take every last ounce of stress out of your romantic stay.

Alternatively, if you fancy exploring further afield…

If simply observing the refined furnishings and extensive gardens of Château Bouffémont didn’t give enough of a sense of being in a different world, that impression is only maximised when one makes the most of our proximity to the City of Lights.

After all, no French romantic break is arguably complete without a trip to Paris, a mere 40-minute drive away from our chateau. The capital presents you with a host of romantic sights, ranging from the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre to such occasionally overlooked delights as the covered shopping arcades of the Right Bank and the Musée de Montmartre, the latter set in the 17th-century manor formerly home to the studio of Impressionist painter Renoir.

Throw in such other idyllic and intriguing attractions nearby as the 13th-century Royaumont Abbey, the Musée National de la Renaissance and the village of Auvers-sur-Oise that inspired such artists as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne, and a weekend stay at Château Bouffémont really does offer all of the ingredients that epitomise holiday romance.

Why not speak to us now about what a wonderful break at this prestigious venue could involve for you and your one-and-only in 2018?